Chief minister Neiphiu Rio Thursday defended home minister Imkong L Imchen over the June 30 incident at Kathmandu airport, saying that Imchen was neither a Nepali citizen nor was he arrested or detained. Imkong is a citizen of India and was made to clarify why he had carried Rs.1000 and Rs.500 Indian currency denominations in Nepal.Rio said Imchen was ignorant of the ban in reply to a supplementary question raised by opposition MLA Joshua Sumi.If one was detained or arrested, there should have been either a detention slip or arrest warrant, Rio said. The chief minister also said on personal enquiry, it was found that government of India had issued circulation prohibiting of Rs.1000 and Rs 500 currency note in Nepal some ten years back but the same was not circulated to the state government adding,the Nepal government also has appealed for wide publicity. He also clarified that it was not Rs 9 lakh as media had publicized but only Rs 2 lakh was seized from Imchen which the CMO had already clarified earlier. He further said that Imchen took permission to visit Kathmandu from the chief minister as it was not necessary to take permission from government of India in view of the good relation between the two countries. One does not need visa to visit Nepal but only an ID card for identification, he added.